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The article discusses key barriers facing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the management of cybersecurity. Topics discussed include the compatibility between intrusion detection, called Einstein, and Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation, need for DHS to obtain permission for the deployment of Einstein to secure federal civilian networks, integration of cyber intelligence and threat detection, and benefits of the National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act.

The article focuses on the efforts of Tom Carper, chairman of the U.S. Senate's key oversight committee, to address the complex budget and federal information technology (IT) issues. It explains that Carper wants to continue the bipartisan approach to legislation and that he plans to pursue a common sense approach to governing.

Statistics on the number of days' notice required for sequestration-related furloughs, the number of U.S. government agency-friendly terms-of-service agreements for social media that have been negotiated by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the percentage of federal employees using their own smartphones at work are presented.

The article presents the reactions of readers on the topic of manpower reduction in the federal government. Some readers believe the biggest challenge for the government is in specifying which position needs to be cut, and assessing underperforming employees, or goldbrickers. Readers also mention the problem of contractors outnumbering federal employees and how a balance can be achieved. The legislations proposed by Representatives Kevin Brady and Cynthia Lummis are also mentioned. INSET: Insourcing vs. outsourcing: The pendulum swings again.

The article presents opinions on pay freeze, furloughs, bonus caps and freeze hiring in the U.S. federal government. Some believe it is better to work in the private sector because they see no job security in a government job anymore. Others believe politicians target the federal workforce because it is the only area they can touch. Sentiments about imposing a 10-day unpaid leave, possible reduction of pension and possible cut of politicians pay are mentioned. INSETS: Mission trumps frustration;Feds say: What about contractors?.

The article profiles the winners of the Federal 100 awards in the U.S. Susie Adams is chief technology officer (CIO) at Microsoft Federal who promoted the use of cloud computing in the government in 2010. Lisa Akers, president of Acquisition Solutions Division at ASI Government, is in-charge of the American Council for Technology/Industry Advisory Council's response. Frank H. Baitman is CIO at Social Security Administration and co-chairman of the CIO Council's Accessibility Committee.

The article discusses some of the best ideas from experts inside and outside the U.S. federal government on how to grow and retain young federal employees. One is to link young employees' work to the agency's mission. Another is to develop clear and consistent performance measures. Establishing strong training programs is also advisable.

The article presents tips for managers on how to create challenging and rewarding federal work environments that would motivate their employees in the General Schedule (GS) federal employee compensation system in the U.S. It notes that most people want to work for the government not for monetary reasons but because they want to make a difference and feel a sense of achievement. It recommends having formal standards for rating performance. The importance of performance management is also highlighted.

The article features the 28 recipients of the 2009 Rising Star Awards which includes, among others, Major Samuel Abbott-McCune, Christina M. Bapst, and Kristine S. Beck.

The article deals with federal compliance with U.S. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which requires the implementation of personal identity verification cards to federal employees. The directive is an ambitious agenda by the government for stiffening security and tightening access to the government's physical assets and computer networks. Varied approaches to compliance are being taken by federal agencies. The Defense Department, for one, has issued millions of smart cards in advance of HSPD-12. Meanwhile, the Veterans Affairs Department is developing a single, unified system that is interoperable with the Defense Department's Common Access Card program.

The article features U.S. Senator George Voinovich. According to the article, Voinovich is a big fan of the federal workforce, which is one of his priorities as a new senator. Voinovich immediately got going on workforce issues when he became senator and chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee's Oversight of Government Management and the Federal Workforce Subcommittee, according to Kristine Simmons, the subcommittee's staff director from 1999 to 2001. Some of the workforce bills sponsored by Voinovich include The Senior Executive Service Reform Act of 2003 and The Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2003.

The article focuses on the implementation of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), a mandated identity verification program in the U.S. According to the author, government agencies need to provide smart cards to approximately 2 million employees and 5 million contractors. Agencies are working with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for background checks and for training employees and contractors who will receive the cards. According to the author, employee unions are worried about their privacy with the implementation of HSPD-12.

The article announces the winners of the 2007 Federal 100 awards including Lisa Akers of the U.S. General Services Administration, George Albinson of the U.S. Army and James Cook of Mitre.

The article emphasizes the need for U.S. federal agencies to improve their recruiting process. Most young people in the U.S. always ask about the nature of the job whenever they are searching for employment. This is the area that federal agencies should address in order to create a powerful recruiting message. By 2011, half of the government employees are going to retire. Since the government will be needing a new supply of workforce, they are starting to streamline their hiring process to make it more appealing to young people. Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, revealed that only 3% of the federal employees are under 25 years old.

The article profiles the winners at the 2006 Rising Star Awards. Ryan Altenbaugh, junior software engineer at the Joint Service Lightweight Standoff Chemical Agent Detector program of the U.S. Army, developed new models for the program to expand its functionality. Amy Anda, an analyst/consultant at Perot Systems, helped the Army with its business transformation, capital planning investment, and control and portfolio management. Rodney Austin, application developer at Veterans Health Administration, is a leader in developing Web-based applications for the health care system.

This article looks at the results of an Federal Computer Week survey regarding the best and worst administrative agencies in the U.S. for federal information technology employees. National Aeronautics & Space Administration, the Commerce Department, and the Transportation Department are the best agencies for federal information technology workers according to the survey. The departments of Housing and Urban Development, State and Education are the worst for information technology. Nearly 70 percent say they are happy in their jobs. Based on their responses, federal information technology workers value the ability to affect the mission of an agency in using technology. A couple of trends perceived to be controversial did not resonate with respondents. They do not consider telework a top priority. Workers satisfied in their jobs and those not as happy ranked telework last among the priorities for job satisfaction. Respondents did not express concerns about the proposed plans of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to eliminate the General Schedule pay system, which would change the rules for paying and promoting federal employees. The survey also found that managers should seek opportunities for employees to lead complex projects and promote training and growth opportunities to keep employees happy and make them feel valued. INSET: How it works.

The article discusses the problem of computer misuse by federal employees in the U.S. Although pornographic Web sites are usually cited as a big part of the problem, managers said federal employees have found many other ways to misuse their government-owned computers. Federal workers spend a lot of time shopping online, downloading pirated music or streaming videos of live sports events, for example, and such activities eat up bandwidth. In a September 8, 2004, memo, Karen Evans, administrator for e-government and information technology at the Office of Management and Budget, set a December 1, 2004, deadline for agency officials to create or update policies prohibiting federal employees from misusing government computers. Nevertheless, it may be an impossible directive to enforce. According to a federal official, if a manager suspects that an employee is misusing a computer or network resources, the manager should contact the agency's technical support department and ask someone to monitor the employee's activities. Software can be used for monitoring, and other ways exist to gather evidence of computer and network misuse. But according to Latonia Parham, employee and labor relations specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, the problem is complicated because workers have rights, too.

The article discusses the lessons learned from executives who have made the switch from government to industry and vice versa. According to Roger Baker, former chief information officer at the U.S. Department of Commerce, the transition to a private sector is something a government person has to be careful of. He said that far too many companies will hire people for who they know and now that they know. Federal employees should be wary of jobs offered by someone who wants to take advantage of their government contacts, Baker said. Alan Balutis, a longtime federal IT executive who joined the private sector in 2003 as president of Veridyne Inc., said there is always one telling sign when a federal IT executive is thinking of moving on, that is, when someone showed up at a leadership conference for the first time. Betsy Steele is now comfortable in the federal government, after she joined the General Services Administration's Federal Systems Integration and Management program, which is part of the Office of IT Solutions in 2002. Although the transition was not easy, Steele began to realize the benefits of her new job. Steele is most happy to about leaving the private sector because she no longer has to worry about the bottom line. Bob McFarland had culture shock when he returned to work in government. The Texas native worked for a number of private companies before joining Dell in 1996. He said that compared to what he's used to, the government moves at a far slower pace. INSET: TIP: Avoid the legal tangles.

The article assesses the potential of massive open online courses (MOOC) to meet federal training needs in the fields of cybersecurity and data analytics. It presents the case of Cybrary, a company that offers free courses on a range of cyber skills, and how it responded to the 2013 budget sequestration and government shutdown. An overview of the result of a data analysis of participation in MOOCs is presented. It also outlines the MOOCs offered by universities that can help boost IT skills.

The article presents updates on the U.S. information technology (IT) industry. According to James Harvey, an enterprise architect at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, cloud computing could make IT employees obsolete. National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander was assigned by the Senate to head the new Cyber Command of the Department of Defense. Federal employees, called the Gettysburg 9, have been named Outstanding Federal Employees by the Seattle Executive Board.

The article addresses the program management performance of U.S. government executives. According to government executives polled by Deloitte Research, the public sector's ability to large projects has dropped since the 1970s. In a Council for Excellence in Government survey made by Management Concepts, polled program managers said they lacked training for key skills such as risk management, overseeing budgets, and working with stakeholders. Majority of the polled managers believe that increased budgets and resources, additional staff, and bigger investments in information technology (IT) would help them do their jobs better.

The article focuses on U.S. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, under which federal agencies are implementing uniform standards for verifying people's identities. The federal identification cards will indicate federal employees and those with permission to access federal networks. According to the article, the concept of identity superiority is now possible because the work that many federal agencies have done to develop a largely invisible infrastructure that supports identity management.

The article shows how the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) intends to develop talents focused on cybersecurity. It reports the partnerships of OPM with the University of Maryland University College and with Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont via a truEd Alliance, which allows federal employees to take online cybersecurity courses and other educational programs focused on mission-critical areas. An overview of the digital-forensic degree offered at Champlain College is provided.

The article highlights the plans of the U.S. Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) for updating the certification for federal procurement professionals. The plans of the FAI that are discussed include the redesign of the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C), creation of core-plus certification in information technology specialization for program managers, and creation of a Digital Service Contracting Professional Training Program.

The article analyzes factors that contributed to the delay in the implementation of security clearances for federal employees and contractors in the U.S. Topics cited include the government's decision to automate the reinvestigation process by using technology to monitor contractors who obtained clearances to work with confidential activities, pilot testing of the Army's Automated Continuous Evaluation System (ACES), and need to address problems such as law enforcement and counterintelligence.

A timeline is presented of events following the deployment of an intrusion detection system, called Einstein, in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide the government with information on federal civilian networks.

The article focuses on U.S. Congressman Gerry Connolly and his support to federal employees. An overview of federal management and operation is presented in which the prospect of further belt-tightening has caused concern among employees and contractors. Connolly cites the rhetoric against federal employees as undermining the government's efforts to replenish its workforce. He also emphasizes the continued investments in science and technology as crucial to maintaining competitive advantage.

An interview with National Treasury Employees Union national president Colleen Kelley is presented. When asked about critical function, she cites their position that federal employees should perform anything associated closely with critical government function. On the effect of critical function decisions on the federal workforce, she says that it lies on the discretion of the agencies. She adds that there could be an increase in utilizing private sector expertise in the long run.

The article shares expert advice on how federal agency managers can telework without losing efficiency at the office. It says that telework policies meet more resistance from government managers than rank-and-file employees because they lack first hand experience for home-based work. Suggestions on how managers can develop teleworking skills include doing it on a part-time basis and determining how they will work during their telework schedules. It adds that managers can still connect with employees by starting conversations online on a personal level.

An interview with Partnership for Public Service vice president of policy John Palguta is presented. Palguta believes that federal employees are an easy target for cost-cutting measures as many are convinced that they are overpaid. When asked on what are the consequences of reducing the size of nonmilitary federal workforce, he says its effect varies from agency to agency, but the common theme may be that not much work can be done. He adds that federal managers are important during this episode in order to keep the morale of their staff high.

The article announces several U.S. federal appointments, including the selection of Richard Keegan as associate deputy administrator at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the confirmation of Jacob Lew as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the appointment of Republican Representative Darrell Issa of California as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The article offers news briefs in the U.S. The U.S. Homeland Security Department is finalizing its request for proposals for the EAGLE II contract worth 22 billion U.S. dollars. A study by Market Connections found that 29 percent of federal employees and 55 percent of federal contractors use social media. Texas has warned the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to improve its performance to retain its data center contract. Northrop Grumman is consolidating its shipyards in the Gulf Coast.

The article reports on the effort made by Acquisition Solutions Inc. to correct the imbalance between the federal employees with the expertise and knowledge to manage the growing number of government procurements. It says that the company bought most of the assets of ICOR Partners LLC in January 2010 in a move to deal with the issue and expand its offerings. It also reveals that the company unveiled Virtual Acquisition Office, or VAO 2.0, an online resource news, research, insight and tools in mid-2009.

The article discusses the importance of networking and mobile technology in U.S. federal agencies. The snowfall that hit the Washington, D.C. area in February 2010 that caused the delay of work of federal employees has allowed concerns regarding technology policies and management. According to the article, before telework can become a standard in the federal agencies, it should be supported by the management, employees must be psychologically and physically ready for teleworking, and rules must be ironed out to accommodate flexible management techniques.

The article presents a list of executives associated with the U.S. federal technology that includes Emily E. Antos from Department of Navy; Teresa Proctor of Department of Homeland Security and Lisa J. Wiswell of Department of Defense.

The article reports on the U.S. Congress' deliberation on the possible revision of the Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-76 in order to lift a moratorium on public/private competition that started in 2009. Topics covered include the circular's requirement for federal agencies to prepare inventories of inherently governmental activities to be performed by federal employees and those that can be performed by the private sector.

The article announces the winners of the 2009 Rising Stars awards in the U.S., including Major Samuel Abbott-McCune, Louis Carrion and Elizabeth Sherry Maloney.

The article discusses the priorities for U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, according to a report from a team of auditors from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Inspector General's (IG) Office. It is stated in the report that competitive sourcing causes federal agencies to lose their experienced workers. Diane Denholm, a principal at Grant Thornton, explains that the need for an acquisition workforce that can navigate the government's contracting process has never been greater. She suggests that the new administration should work with agencies to find ways to fill gaps with available resources.

The article discusses the move of U.S. President Barack Obama to create two federal positions, the chief performance officer and chief technology officer (CTO). He has selected Peter Orszag to be the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), describing him as an honest broker on economic and budgetary issues. Stan Collender of Qorvis Communications observes that the new administration will compel agencies to examine everything they do. It is noted that Obama has yet to nominate anyone to lead the U.S. Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP).

The article discusses how the U.S. Office Personnel Management provides health information technology (IT) applications for federal employees and how they influence the use of health information technology in the private sector and at the same time, help save money. According to the article, OPM issues a set of goals and cornerstones. For 2009, OPM will recognize and reward plans that educate consumers to the value of health IT, provide members with Public Health Reports (PHRs) and incentives for e-prescribing.

This article offers ideas for managing U.S. federal employees and federal contractors. It advises to never forget that federal contractors must answer to their companies and stockholders and that federal employees must answer to the public. It also suggests to organize the workplace to maximize the respective strengths and minimize the respective weaknesses of federal employees and federal contractors. It also recommends the adoption of a formal workplace structure to handle workforce issues and the integration of workforce planning and acquisition planning.

The article reports on the replacement of the government purchase card program by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) with SmartPay2. The SmartPay2 is designed to help agencies track employees' purchasing transactions and perform data mining to detect patterns of unusual spending. In 2007, federal employees spent $18 billion in 24 million purchasing transactions through the use of the cards. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that agencies failed to properly authorize and provide complete documentation for 41% of 192 transactions in the random samples it audited.

The article features David Powner, an auditor and director of information technology management issues of the General Accounting Office (GAO) of the U.S. This GAO official believes in bringing an enlightened perspective to the agencies whose programs he scrutinizes. He also believes that the role of GAO is to build a relationship where they are viewed as a value-added service to federal agencies. He asserts that proper governance is critical to keeping information technology projects on track. His job is to see that federal tax dollars are well spent and not wasted.

The article features Lieutenant General Charles Croom of the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Since he took command in 2005, Croom initiated a fundamental transformation of the way DISA acquires information technology. He led DISA through the first steps of that transformation by championing an ABC philosophy of acquisition, which means adopt before buying and buy before creating. His philosophy emphasizes meeting emerging needs by looking first for solutions already at hand in the Defense Department and, failing that, looking for readily available commercial alternatives. The last resort should be creating technology from scratch.

This section presents an interview with Linda Springer, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. She says that her office is rehiring retired federal employees due to the scarcity of qualified workers to fulfill the positions of retiring workforce. She cites some of the positions given to retired employees, such as those related to disaster relief operation and social security. She also comments on the prospects of a bill that will allow retired employees to continue receiving annuity payments even if they are rehired on part-time basis.

The article discusses the imminent problem facing the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration with regard to its aging employees, as well as its need for experienced employees to propel its projects. While managers at NASA assess employee skills and the skills needed by the agency in the future using specialized metrics, the agency's employee union sees it as not enough. The union argues that these metrics or competency tools would not suffice in addressing problems related to retirement.

The article examines the meaning of the phrase inherently governmental. Some U.S. officials say it is increasingly difficult to differentiate the responsibilities of federal employees and private contractors. According to David Walker, comptroller general and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the definition the term has taken on a new significance as the government struggles to maintain an adequate acquisition workforce. He cites several factors that contributed to the government's acquisition workforce problems, including bureaucratic hiring policies, and obsolete classification and compensation approaches.